About Me

Tierra Verde Handmade Soap

I’m a wife, mom, and a self proclaimed soap nerd with an entrepreneurial spirit-living in Lubbock Texas, (a place best known for our expansive horizon, cotton,and as the birth place of Buddy Holly.)I guess you might say I’ve got a serious addiction to all things soap related. Come hang out, as I share my adventures in a world where chemistry meets art.

Etsy Mini

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“Homemade soap feels good: soft, rich, enveloping, soothing. The lather is dense and penetrating rather than thin and airy. It leaves an emollient film on your skin that makes it feel soft and sensuous. Homemade soap is comforting in ways which manufactured soap can never be: its look, its weight, its bulk, how it feels in your hands, looks in its dish. There is something ineffable about homemade soap. It’s not homogenized, pasteurized, deodorized, sanitized or synthesized - it’s one of a kind, every bar different, each unique. It is idiosyncratic in the way of all homemade and handmade things.”

Ann Bramson

August 14, 2013

After one more try, I think I've finally
gotten to the right color. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Orange
Clove 2.0 (from yesterday) will most likely bleed the color is just so saturated, and I
think I'm even happier with this color.

It's important for
the customer to see the effort that goes into researching and
developing a product-it's not typically about just throwing a color in
and hoping for the best. A lot of trial and error goes into getting
color, technique and scent just right. It's about knowing what scents
will accelerate your batch,what colorants are safe and friendly,
preventing bleed,formula-so many factors play into a proper soap. It's
safe to say a lot of care goes into a batch to ensure that the customer
has a good experience with our product.

I guess some of you may be wondering where I am going with all of this. I am in the throws of developing a good solid line. Over the years I've spent much time self sabotaging my efforts(with the help of a couple of friends too), in the past I've had a consistent nagging that kept me from following through with things for one reason for another. I've been doing some work on that persistent and nagging negative voice, and now I'm getting ready for my debut. I am getting ready to take on the world. I have always been driven to equal some of my soaping heroines, and now I'm ready to "just do it." I'm on my way. I have a plan and I'm moving forward. These crazy experiments are not just because I'm killing time here. I'm ready to get out there.

What a beautiful shade of orange! My bag of paprika has been sitting in my kitchen for over a month and I still have not gotten around to using it. I thought it produced a pinkish or peach color? Have you tried using paprika powder straight into your soap? Does it produce speckles? I also read your older posts on your quest for orange that started with annatto. I sifted mine but it still produced speckles, but I added it to the oils, not the lye. Have not tried infusing...

@ Silvia,Try infusing Annatto or Paprika in your oil. Both Annatto and Paprika release there color very readily no real need for a long infusion. I heated my Paprika for a bit and then let it sit overnight. I don't recommend using the oil as your full OO amount (or whatever oil you use.) I would cut it by whatever you feel gives you the color you want without bleed. Annatto is going to give you a more peachy orange rather than a true orange and even though the Paprika looks very true orange before gel the outcome after gel is more of a sweet potato or pumpkin orange. I will post pics as soon as I get it cut-probably tomorrow as it's still in the mold.

Thank you for the tip! I will try it at some point. I just finished making yogurt soap that I colored with dried safflower petals soaked in a small amount of hot water. Let's see what it looks like. :-)